


to love and be loved

by deemohn



Category: All Elite Wrestling, Professional Wrestling
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, M/M, Slice of Life, idk just supportive boyfriend stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29338830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deemohn/pseuds/deemohn
Summary: Orange does a bit of doomscrolling after he's signed to AEW.Set somewhere around August 2019
Relationships: Trent Barreta/Orange Cassidy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	to love and be loved

Something cold and wet roused Orange from sleep. Cracking open an eye, he spotted the assailant. 

“Bo,” he greeted. The stout white dog responded with a grunt, and Orange reached over to scratch him behind the ears. “Where’s your dad?” 

As expected, Bo had no answer. Orange grabbed his phone from off the nightstand and glanced at the time. It was after 9am. There was also a handwritten note. 

_Went for a quick run. Be back soon._

_xoxo_

There were also a few hearts drawn on the bottom of it, as if the ‘xoxo’ didn’t quite convey what Trent was trying to express. Orange smiled and shook his head. 

Well, no need to get up. He settled back in while Bo leaned heavily into his side. Out of habit, he pressed on the Twitter app, ready to mindlessly scroll while he waited for Trent to get back. 

It took very little time to realize what a mistake this was. 

Cornette was at it again, which. That was fine, Orange didn’t quite give a shit about some old bigot that was stuck in the past. He was mostly pretty cool with critics, he’d made peace with himself and with them a while back. He knew how good he was. He knew how loved he was by those that loved him. 

But did everyone and their cousin have to clog up his mentions with insults and, oh wow, wishes for his death? Was this how it was gonna be every week that he was on TV? 

Transfixed, he scrolled. And scrolled and scrolled and scrolled. 

“Hey babe!” The combination of Trent’s voice and Bo’s whines startled him, and Orange jumped a little, his phone flying out of his hands and onto the comforter. “Oh shit, I didn’t mean to scare you!” 

“You’re good.” Orange attempted to pull himself together, his heart still racing. Bo leapt off the bed and started wiggling around at Trent’s feet. 

“Got you something.” Trent was all smiles as he held up a greasy brown paper bag and a plastic bottle. “Uh, I kind of ran back super fast after I got it, so the juice might be all foamy? Sorry.” 

“Thanks,” Orange smiled back as Trent knelt on the mattress and planted a gentle kiss on the lips. The bag and bottle were handed over; while Orange busied himself with retrieving the breakfast sandwich inside of it, Trent picked up the discarded phone. 

“Hey, here you-” Trent’s eyes flashed to the still-lit screen, then to Orange. They stared at one another for a moment, until Orange accepted it and placed it face down next to him. “Uh…” 

“Don’t. Worry about it,” Orange deadpanned while he picked at the tin foil that was wrapped around the sandwich. 

“I’m gonna worry about it like, a little bit,” Trent admitted. “That’s not a good habit to get into. Trust me, I would know.” 

Orange sunk his teeth into his breakfast, anything to not respond. Not that Trent would ever force him to open up or even pry much, not unless provoked. That was one of the things that Orange had come to appreciate about being with him, being given the space to breathe while always being enveloped with support. It was like rock climbing: he was suspended hundreds of feet off the ground but knew that he’d never plummet, because his partner kept a tight grip on the rope, the lifeline. 

He chewed for a little while, swallowed, then said, “It’s really good.” 

“Yeah, it’s from a deli that I like a few miles up the road.” Trent had sat down now, and Orange took another bite, but not before tearing off a piece of the bagel and feeding it to Bo. “It always sucks, especially the first few times. At least you're 'relevant', heh.“ Orange nodded along, half expecting more of a pep talk, half wanting one. Definitely not asking for one. Instead, he got a gentle, “I love you.” 

At that, his eyes watered. Not enough for tears to form and spill over, just enough for him to admit to himself that he wasn’t impenetrable. He set the sandwich down on the nightstand, then wrapped his arms around Trent, tucking his head into the firm bicep there and hiding his face. “Love you, too.” 

“Oh wait, no, I’m kind of gross and sweaty!” Trent laughed. 

“Don’t care,” Orange murmured. 

“Let me take a shower at least, then, y’know. We can do snuggling or whatever afterwards.” Orange still hadn’t let go, and Trent sighed fondly. “Unless you maybe...wanna join me?” 

That was an agreeable compromise, Orange decided. Trent helped him to his feet, stopping to kiss him at least a dozen times before they’d even gotten to the bathroom. 

And really, who had the energy to worry about people that hated you when you were this cared for and loved?


End file.
